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U.S. will ‘leave no stone unturned’ to stop sex assaults in military, Barack Obama vows

The U.S. will look to Canada, Israel and other allies to solve the crisis of sex abuse in the American military, President Barack Obama vowed Thursday

U.S. President Barack Obama met with Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and military leaders at the White House on Thursday in the wake of several recent sex assault scandals in the military. (Mark Wilson / GETTY IMAGES)

WASHINGTON—The U.S. will look to Canada, Israel and other allies as part of an effort that will “leave no stone unturned” to solve the crisis of sex abuse in the American military, President Barack Obama vowed Thursday.

Describing as “shameful and disgraceful” new Pentagon estimates of a record 26,000 sex assaults in 2012, Obama said military leaders would reach outside the ranks to Congress and beyond in an effort to end the “scourge.”

Speaking from the White House Cabinet Room alongside top U.S. military brass, Obama said Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel is “not only consulting with Congress but is also looking at militaries around the world — the Canadians or the Israelis or others — that may have design systems that get at this to see if there are any lessons learned in terms of best practices.

“There is no silver bullet to solving this problem,” said Obama. “This is going to require a sustained effort over a long period of time.”

A Pentagon report earlier this month found that more than 26,000 U.S. troops reported an episode of “unwanted sexual contact,” up from 19,300 in 2010, sparking national outrage.

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But the crisis hit a new low with two separate reports of sexual assaults involving U.S. military officials tasked with combating sex assault.

The developments triggered anger in Washington, where some lawmakers expressed doubts that the world’s most powerful army should be allowed to self-police, given the rate at which it assaults itself.

“The system is broken,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who on Thursday tabled bipartisan-backed legislation that would strip the military of control of prosecutions involving sexual assault and other major crimes.

“This is the only way we can provide the unbiased justice that our victims need,” she said.

Though few expect the military to easily surrender such control, Obama and Hagel have said all options are under consideration to curb attacks.

Obama, in his remarks at the White House Thursday afternoon, stressed the importance of instilling in a new generation of military leaders the centrality of the issue.

“Not only is it a crime, not only is it shameful and disgraceful, but it also is going to make and has made the military less effective,” said Obama. “And as such, it is dangerous to our national security.

“So this is not a sideshow. This is not sort of a second-order problem that we’re experiencing. This goes to the heart and the core of who we are and how effective we’re going to be.”

One senior commander, Gen. Martin Dempsey, suggested on Wednesday the strains of war could be a factor in the worsening crisis.

“I tasked those around me to help me understand what a decade-plus of conflict may have done to the force,” the Pentagon’s internal news service quoted Dempsey as saying. “Instinctively, I knew it had to have some effect.

“That’s not to make excuses,” he said. “We should be better than this. In fact, we have to better than this.”

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